By Abdallah el-Kurebe
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Uche Secondus, has described the judgement by the Supreme Court as a daylight robbery and outright miscarriage of justice carefully orchestrated to favour the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The apex court had voided the declaration of Mr Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as governor of Imo state and declared Mr Hope Uzodinma of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as supposed winner.
However, Secondus also called for the immediate review and reversal of the judgement in the interest of justice.
Secondus who spoke on behalf of the National Working Committee (NWC) said after a thorough examination of all the issues relating to what he described as travesty of justice by the apex court, the party resolved that the Supreme Court, under Justice Mohammed Tanko, has become heavily compromised, lost its credibility and is now hijacked by the APC-led federal government to carry out acts that are clearly against the Nigerian people.
“That the judgment of the Supreme Court voiding the lawful election of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha (who scored 276,404 votes) and awarding fictitious votes to declare Hope Uzodimma of the APC, who scored 96,458 votes as governor of Imo state, is highly irrational, unfounded, a provocative product of executive manipulation and a recipe for crisis, which should not be allowed to stand.
“With the verdict, the Supreme Court executed a coup against the PDP and the people of Imo State as well as other Nigerians, and such must not be allowed to have a place in our democracy,” the PDP Chairman said.
Secondus insisted that the CJN must provide Nigerians with answers to some pertinent questions concerning the 2019 general elections.
“The question is, how many witnesses did Uzodinma/APC call from the 388 polling units from where the Supreme Court allocated votes to him?”
Secondus also claimed that the said results from the 388 polling units were rightfully rejected, in line with several decisions of the Supreme Court, by the Tribunal and Court of Appeal as it was merely dumped on the tribunal in a Ghana Must Go bag, by a policeman who did not testify at the tribunal.
“The Tribunal did not even open the Ghana Must Go bags as there was no basis to do so. It is one of the great wonders of the world how the Supreme Court opened the bag, counted the results and added them to only the APC Candidate.”
“What is more perplexing is the fact that INEC produced a schedule of reasons why results were not produced from the 388 units.”
“Indeed, election did not even take place in most of the units for one reason or another, like violence, etc and so no result could possibly be obtained from those units. The results were not merely rejected or cancelled by INEC.
“None of the candidates or their counsel, except perhaps APC, as we speak, are aware of the number of votes scored by each party from the 388 polling units. The Tribunal or Court of Appeal did not mention or ascribe any figure from the units to any party in their decisions.
“In fact, in the cross examination of the APC Candidate, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, he could not read any figure from the “Oluwole” results. He said that the figures were not clear. And so, it beats our imagination where the Supreme Court conjured and manufactured the figures it used in declaring Uzodinma/APC as duly elected.
“But the law is settled as decided by the same Supreme Court in Buhari v. INEC (2008); that “weight can hardly be attached to a document tendered in evidence by a witness who cannot or is not in a position to answer questions on the document. One of such persons the law identifies is the one who did not make the document. Such a person is adjudged in the eyes of the law as ignorant of the content of the document”.
The PDP equally questioned how the APC that couldn’t win even one seat at the State House of Assembly in an election that was held the same time could now win the governorship election.
“As already known, there was only one accreditation for the 2 elections. The APC did not win any of the 27 seats in the Imo State House of Assembly. The above further questions and confronts the rationale for the judgment of the Supreme Court on Imo State.
“How then did the Supreme Court arrive at its decision to allocate results to void a lawful governorship election and imposed an unelected person as governor?
“The fact is that, the Supreme Court, as presently constituted under Justice Mohammed Tanko, has lost its credibility and no longer commands the respect and confidence of Nigerians. If the people no longer repose confidence in the Supreme Court, then our democracy, national cohesion and stability are at great risk.”
Secondus alleged that there was intelligence before the verdict on the Imo governorship that the leadership of the APC had concluded arrangements to use the Supreme Court to capture some of the states won and controlled by the PDP like; Imo, Sokoto, Bauchi, Benue and Adamawa.
“Our party has it in good authority that Justice Tanko and his panel are working on instruction from certain forces in the Presidency to use the Supreme Court to take over states lawfully won by the PDP and award them to the APC.”
Secondus demanded that to avoid the imminent breakdown of law and order, the CJN should honourably resign without further delay, adding that he must not head any other panel in the remaining election cases.
“In other to avoid an imminent breakdown of law and order, the PDP demands that Justice Tanko Mohammed immediately steps down as CJN and chairman of the National Judicial Council as Nigerians have lost confidence in him and a Supreme Court under his leadership.
“Justice Tanko must not head the panel to determine the remaining election petitions before the Supreme Court.”
